The United States (US) Port of San Diego has been hit by a cyber-attack and the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are helping the port investigate and clean up in the wake of the outbreak

The port released a statement yesterday (Thursday) saying the malware had infiltrated its computer network and was disrupting administration systems.

"This is mainly an administrative issue and normal port operations are continuing as usual," said the CE of the port, Randa Coniglio.

He added that the main impact would be on the issuing of park permits, public records requests and general business services. The hackers are demanding payment in Bitcoin.

This is the second attack on a maritime company this year with the China Ocean Shipping Company’s terminal in Long Beach targeted by a malware attack in July. The port was closed for a short period.

Last year, shipping major, Maersk was one of the targets of a cyber-attack which saw operations (including APM Terminals) affected over a couple of weeks. The attack cost the company around US$200 million in revenue.

Global insurance broking and innovative risk management solutions company, Marsh, highlighted in a recent report that significant weaknesses had been identified in the cybersecurity of critical technology used for navigation at sea.